I often hear from clients, especially those charged with domestic violence, that the alleged victim is willing to admit that she exaggerated or falsified statements to police and now wants to “drop the charges.” Many of my clients believe that this will be the end of the case. After all, if the alleged victim doesn’t want to see the defendant prosecuted, why should county prosecutors care? That’s the way it works in movies and on television--just say the magic words, and the charges are dropped. But in real life, once the police get involved, there are no magic words that the alleged victim can say to make the case go away.

In fact, once the police are called on a domestic violence case, and the district attorney decides to file charges, there is generally nothing the alleged victim can say or do to make the police or district attorney believe that the charges are exaggerated or false. With very few exceptions, when an alleged victim admits to lying to police, the police and district attorney will always believe that the alleged victim is lying to protect the defendant.

For these reasons, if you’ve been charged with a crime, including domestic violence, you should not count on having your charges dismissed just because the alleged victim doesn’t want to “press charges.” As I’ve explained, that would be a poor defense strategy, and relying on such a strategy could result in a criminal conviction, jail time, and other stiff penalties. This is why you should always leave your defense strategy in the hands of an experienced criminal defense attorney, and ignore what you’ve seen in movies and on television.